


Our Last Summer

by Skylar0Grace



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-05-29
Updated: 2009-05-29
Packaged: 2017-11-29 16:57:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/689290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylar0Grace/pseuds/Skylar0Grace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The smallest things can have the biggest impact…</p>
            </blockquote>





	Our Last Summer

**Author's Note:**

> The idea sprung into my head after reading Tany’s ‘Museum’ piece and all the little bunnies began dancing around me.

* * *

Buffy and Dawn were headed toward the cemetery and Buffy was really hoping her sister would stop talking. She didn’t want to hurt her but she was sure there would be bloodshed by the end of the night if she didn’t.

“Dawn, stop!” Buffy yelled in frustration as they reached the first crypt.

Dawn grabbed Buffy by the upper arm and halted her steps. “I will if you tell me what’s wrong. Why do you think I’m chasing after you tonight? Even Faith didn’t want to go patrolling with you while you’re like this.”

“Like what? There’s nothing wrong with me!”

“Why are you being so snappy? You’ve been short with the Slayers for the last two days and this morning you beat up on Faith in training. What the hell is wrong?”

Buffy looked at the ground and remained silent. Dawn was right, she’d been angry lately and had been taking it out on everybody but she hadn’t realised that it had gotten to the point where they had to send her sister in.

“Brian,” Buffy mumbled and Dawn looked at her in complete confusion. “He’s a guy that I met in town last week.”

“You’re dating someone?”

Buffy’s shoulders slumped. “Not anymore. We had one date and he said he doesn’t think we’ll work.” Buffy’s sadness gave way to anger and her sister waited to hear the whole story. “I mean, how can you tell after one date, huh? And you’re not supposed to break up with someone on the phone! He’s supposed to wait until he can tell me in person so that I can either try to change his mind or pummel him into the ground. Do you think he’s a demon? ‘Cause that could explain his sudden change of heart.”

Dawn didn’t want to upset her sister but it didn’t even really classify as dating. She’d known that Buffy had been lonely lately but she didn’t really know what she could do about it. The general population didn’t know about demons and any dates would have to be kept out of the loop. Buffy wasn’t really very good at undercover and something was always trying to kill her making dating hard.

“Buffy, I don’t think he’s a demon or a jerk, he just sounds like a regular guy. Lots of people aren’t compatible.”

“I know, I know, I was just hoping to put the blame somewhere other than me.”

Buffy swung her stake around in her hand and Dawn looked sadly at Buffy. “It’s not your fault Buffy; if it won’t work, it won’t work. There is someone out there for you, don’t worry.”

Buffy looked down at the hand reaching through the dirt in the grave at her feet. A vampire pulled herself out of the grave and looked at Dawn and Buffy as though they were an all-you-can-eat buffet. Buffy shocked her with a punch to the head and the vampire looked down in time to see a hand plunge a stake in her chest. She exploded into a cloud of dust and Buffy and Dawn moved on.

“Why are we here?” Buffy asked with a small sigh.

“Well, I don’t know really. I don’t know if anyone really knows. I guess you’re here to protect the world and help lead the new generation…” Buffy raised her eyebrows at Dawn and Dawn smiled sheepishly. “You meant tonight, didn’t you?”

Buffy nodded and laughed slightly at her sister. She scanned the area in front of her but saw no immediate danger. Buffy pulled her leather jacket around her to keep out the chill to the air and tuned back in to Dawn’s explanation.

“-he was pulling out about six a week. Guess he’s rounding up a new gang. He or she ‘cause we don’t really know who’s doing it but if we can catch them in the act and take them out, it should mean less trouble later.”

Buffy heard a twig snap and put her hand over Dawn’s mouth. She looked behind her and saw two figures stepping out from behind a row of trees and bushes dividing the cemetery. Buffy was about to raise her stake when she noticed they were human. They both stopped in surprise and all four people looked at each other.

The taller man tilted his head to the side and looked at Buffy searchingly. He was good looking in a little brother sort of way and seemed to have kind eyes. He was carrying a shovel and a backpack. The other man, however, was dangerously good-looking and Buffy immediately tensed up. He was definitely one to stay away from though she knew there would be very few women who ever had. He was also carrying a shovel and had a hand in his leather jacket. He looked at the women in front of him casually but Buffy could see how tense his muscles were under his tight shirt.

“Buffy?” the taller man asked.

Buffy looked across at him just as he stepped forward and enveloped her in a big hug. She noticed the other man raise an eyebrow and she looked across at Dawn who shrugged. When he stepped back, the tall man gave a small blush at the look of confusion on her face.

“Uh, it’s me, Sam Winchester and that’s my brother Dean. We spent the summer with you when we were kids.”

Buffy’s mind quickly raced back to her childhood, trying to place the somewhat familiar name. And then she remembered: Celia, it had been the summer before Celia had died. She’d been staying with Aunt Arlene while her Mum and Dad looked after a sick Dawn, when two boys had come to stay there, their father dropping them off for a few weeks. The oldest boy was two years older than her and had been very stand-offish. They hadn’t gotten along very well and Buffy hadn’t spent much time with him. However, the younger brother, Sam, had reminded her so much of an older Dawn that Buffy had spent those few weeks with him, teaching him all the things she wanted to teach Dawn but couldn’t yet.

* * *

_“Come on Dean, Sam,” their father said as he picked up their small bags off the wooden floorboards in the hallway._

_He gave a small nod to her Aunt and walked outside, obviously expecting the boys to follow. Sam flung himself into Buffy’s arms and she hugged him fiercely. He looked up into her face and she saw the unshed tears in his eyes. There was a small tug on the back of Sam’s shirt and Buffy looked up to see Dean looking pointedly at Sam. Sam gave him a sad, heartbreaking glance and Dean rolled his eyes._

_“I’ll miss you,” he said._

_Buffy gave him a small kiss on the cheek. “I’ll miss you too Sammy.”_

_Dean looked back and saw their father seated behind the wheel of the Impala impatiently. Dean once again pulled on Sam’s shirt and this time Sam obeyed as he let go and followed his brother out the door. Buffy stood in the front doorway with her Aunt’s hand on her shoulder as Dean and Sam walked down the path and climbed into the car. As the sleek black car disappeared into the distance Buffy noticed the small face of a six-year-old boy sadly waving goodbye out the back window._

* * *

Buffy’s face broke out into a warm smile. “Hey Sammy, it’s been a very long time; I’m surprised you remember me.”

“Me too,” Dean replied confusedly from behind Sam. Sam and Buffy ignored him.

“It was a great summer, probably one of the best summers I had when I was a kid.”

“Really? We didn’t really do anything extraordinary.”

“That’s probably why.”

Buffy pointed beside her. “That’s my sister Dawn. She wasn’t there that summer. I think she was sick.” Buffy turned her attention to Dawn. “I went to spend the summer at Aunt Arlene’s and they were there too.”

“Celia?” Dawn asked softly and Buffy nodded.

* * *

_Buffy watched as her Aunt disappeared around the corner after her giggling cousin and she turned back around to see Sam tugging on her shirt, his chubby six-year old fingers leaving behind dirty marks. Buffy knelt down before him and looked into his questioning gaze._

_“Can we play on the swings?”_

_Buffy nodded and encased his much smaller hand with hers, a sense of pride rushing through her as she acknowledged the short amount of time it had taken for the little boy to become attached to her. If she could handle being his surrogate ‘big sister’ this well she had confidence she could be a good one to Dawn._

_They walked through the public park and Buffy noticed all the other children; some running about and some playing. One in the corner screaming as his mother tried to pull him from the slide, her pleas going unnoticed as he begged for ten more minutes._

_Buffy helped Sam up onto the swing and gave him a small push, testing his reaction to the new speed and height. She worried that he would be scared but he just let out a laugh and yelled ‘higher!’ Buffy grinned and pushed a little harder. She watched the wind rush through his brown hair and she could see his eyes closed tightly but a huge grin was spread on his face._

_She gave a small frown as the world tilted sideways and she saw the ground come rushing toward her. She put out her hands to break the fall and felt the bark dig into the soft flesh on her palms. Buffy held back tears as she looked back up at the figure causing a shadow to fall over her, blocking the sunlight from her view. The cold, uncaring eyes of a boy who was about twelve years old fell on her, daring her to fight back._

_“This is my swing!”_

_Buffy glanced around quickly looking for any sign of her Aunt but disappointment coursed through her and she stood shakily._

_“But you weren’t even using it. There are lots of other ones not being used,” she yelled timidly._

_His dark brown eyes seemed to darken further and he glared at her. His hand shot out and he grabbed the chain of the swing, shaking it violently and causing Sam to shriek._

_“But this one is mine!”_

_“Stop it!” Buffy yelled and moved forward._

_The older boy sent his other hand shooting toward her and she once again fell in shock. A tear threatened to fall and she bit her lip to stop it. She looked back up at him and saw him shake the chain again, Sam crying as he held on with both hands for dear life. She was trying to figure out what to do when she saw an arm shoot out of her peripheral vision and push the older boy, causing him to stumble back several steps._

_Dean came into view and Sam stopped crying as his brother faced off with the older boy. He moved forward to attack and Dean let his fist fly, the knuckles connecting with the other boy’s face and causing a stunned reaction before he ran off._

_Dean helped Sam off the swing before turning to Buffy, fury still evident in his eyes. When he spoke his voice was cold and Buffy wasn’t sure which older boy she was more afraid of at that moment._

_“You do whatever it takes to protect the ones you love, even if it means a sacrifice on your part.”_

_The line seemed so rehearsed, like it was something he had been told repeatedly but he gave her one last disappointed and angry glance before he strode off across the park with Sam in tow. Buffy saw Sam look back at Buffy with a sad look and it was then that Buffy let that suppressed tear fall._

* * *

“Oh, that’s right, you have a cousin. She had a _lot_ of energy and a great imagination. How is she?” Sam asked but regretted as soon he saw the sad look on Buffy’s face.

“She died a couple of weeks after you left.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” he replied sincerely. Sam looked behind him and noticed Dean give him a quick glance out toward the cemetery. “So, what are you two doing out here this late at night?”

“We’re visiting a friend,” Buffy said awkwardly pointing to a fresh grave two rows beside her.

“Yeah, she died last week and we wanted to pay our respects,” Dawn supplied.

“In the middle of the night?” Dean asked unconvinced. He held them under the same scrutinizing glare that she had remembered seeing from him when he was little. Obviously he hadn’t changed as much as she had.

* * *

_The first Slayer looked at her from her crouched position. “Death is your gift”_

_Buffy frowned in confusion. “Death…”_

_“Is your gift,” the first Slayer finished._

_Buffy frowned and turned around slowly. She saw the sun trying desperately to rise despite the horrors about to occur. Several holes began tearing apart the sky and she could see small glimpses of the hellish dimensions about to burst through._

_The face of a young boy broke through her thoughts and she saw his hardened face addressing her as he gripped tightly onto his younger brother._

_“You do whatever it takes to protect the ones you love, even if it means a sacrifice on your part.”_

_A peace fell on Buffy and she turned back around to Dawn. She knew what she had to do now. As if she could read Buffy’s thoughts, Dawn’s face scrunched up in horror._

_“Buffy…no!”_

_Buffy looked at her sadly. “Dawnie, I have to.”_  


* * *

“We work late,” Buffy replied dryly.

Dean looked at the headstone and then back to Buffy. “To a Johnny Smith?”

Buffy glared quickly at her sister and then smiled sweetly at Dean. “He was getting a sex change operation?”

Buffy noticed Sam frowning a little at the lame excuse and she heard Dawn give a soft groan.

“Besides, what are you doing?” Buffy motioned toward their shovels.

“Burying a time capsule,” Dean said immediately.

“Like ‘Hello people of the future, kids today like Redbull and Jackass?’” Dawn asked, laughing softly. Sam laughed and Dean shifted uncomfortably.

Buffy heard the familiar noise of a new vampire rising and groaned. “Sorry guys, I’ll be back in a minute.”

She threw a quick glance at Dawn who nodded and Buffy walked to the fresh grave she had pointed to earlier. A teenage girl pulled herself through the dirt and smiled at a waiting Buffy. Buffy looked back at the headstone and read Tammy Tilney before Tammy punched her in the face.

“Oh please! You’ll give our sex a bad name with hits like that! Try it more like this!” Buffy said as she punched Tammy. Tammy used the force of the punch to back flip like a gymnast over her headstone.

Not too far away Dawn was standing with the Winchester brothers who were watching in fascination. Dean had begun to move forward to help but Dawn had stopped him, telling him Buffy could handle herself. They watched as Buffy matched Tammy move for move. Tammy must have realised that she was going to lose because she back flipped and tried to make a run for it.

“Hey! We were just getting to know each other!” Buffy called to a retreating Tammy.

Tammy didn’t turn around and Dean had thought she was letting a vampire get away when Buffy suddenly threw her stake across the cemetery and Tammy disappeared in a cloud of dust. Dawn saw Buffy shrug before she walked back over to them apprehensively.

“That was just a trick of the light,” Dawn said as Buffy returned.

“Which part?” Dean asked disbelievingly.

“Um, all of it?”

Dean laughed. “Sure it was. So you guys hunt huh? Small world.”  
  
“No, I patrol. I’m gonna say that you’re not running and screaming because you’re Hunters?”

Sam stuck out his hand and offered her a bright smile. “I’m Sam Winchester and this is my brother Dean. We’re Hunters.”

“What do you hunt?” Buffy asked warily as she shook his hand.

“Mostly spirits. What about you?” Sam asked as Buffy turned around frowning, her eyes darting across the darkened scenery.

“What is it Buffy?” Dawn asked as she scanned the area behind her.

“He’s here. He was watching,” Buffy said distractedly.

“Okay, eww, talk about creepy.”

Buffy moved slightly forward. “He’s making a run for it,” Buffy said before she sprinted off, Dawn following.

Dean took flight and trusted his brother was behind him. He had lost sight of her but he kept following Dawn; Buffy sure can run fast, he thought. He came to a stop when he saw a vampire in a long black coat backhand Buffy. She fell backwards over a headstone and he advanced on her. Dean moved forward to help but once again, Dawn pushed him back.

“No!” she said firmly, panting slightly from the run. Sam was watching the scene before him as Buffy stood up and stared the vampire down.

“So, who exactly are you?” Buffy asked.

The vampire grinned. “My name is Angelo but I kinda like the name Angel.”

“He’s gonna wish he hadn’t said that,” Dawn said under her breath.

Buffy looked down at his all-black attire and the long black trench coat. Angelo had his hair slicked back and he looked to Buffy challengingly.

“You building some kind of army?”

“I might be,” he replied cockily as they traded blows. Buffy threw out a punch which he caught and used to pull her forward and kiss her on the mouth. Buffy pushed away from him angrily and kicked him in the midsection, the action sending him backwards.

Sam and Dean saw a similarly dressed man step out from behind a crypt and watch the scene before him.

“Oh boy,” Dawn muttered. Dean took that as a bad sign and stepped forward again, only to have Dawn turn and face him. “No! You don’t want to get caught between them, believe me.”

“You’re gonna let your sister be attacked by him?”

Dawn shook her head and looked away from Dean’s incredulous face to the scene behind her. Buffy was still fighting Angelo and the man was watching from the sidelines. She turned back to Dean and Sam.

“Look, he’s not gonna kill her unless he’s evil now and even then he just tortures her,” Dawn began as she rambled, “Though we haven’t heard anything about that so he probably isn’t.”

“Dawn!” Dean said, cutting off her rambling as he noticed the man walking toward Buffy and Angelo.

“Look, bottom line, if he’s evil there’s not a thing you can do. He’ll kill you before you know what’s going on. Buffy will know…”

Dawn trailed off as the man walked behind Buffy and Dawn saw her sister smile. Buffy kicked Angelo back and turned around to the man, hand out. He smiled before putting a stake in her hand and she used it to dust Angelo. Buffy then turned around and handed him back the stake and gave him a soft hug.

“He’s okay, let’s go,” Dawn said smiling. She bounded over to him and hugged him, Dean and Sam looking on cautiously. It was obvious to them that this man wasn’t human.

“Just waiting for the all clear huh?” he asked teasingly. Dawn shrugged.

"Not that I’m not glad to see you but what are you doing here Angel? Is there another apocalypse?”

At the mention of his name, Angel saw Dean’s hand move toward a gun. He looked carefully at it and raised an eyebrow.

“Winchesters huh?” Angel turned to Buffy. “You’ve got good taste in friends.”

Dean openly pulled out the colt and Buffy looked at Angel in surprise.  
  
“You know them?”

“I know of them. Who doesn’t? Closed the Hellmouth in Wyoming.”

“Huh,” Buffy replied thoughtfully.

Angel watched the interaction between the four people in front of him. He’d known Buffy since she was fifteen and he’d never seen the Winchester’s in her life. They must have met before that but he suspected that it hadn’t been for long because the acquaintance wasn’t kept. Angel pulled out a long sword from his coat with a red jewelled handle.

“Ooh, shiny!”

Angel smiled at her. “Picked it up off a demon and thought it may come in use with the other Slayers.”

There was a shocked look on the Winchester’s faces and Angel relished the fact that he knew information they didn’t. He knew it was petty but the older Winchester could be a threat to his cookie dough. He wanted to be the one who was there when the cookies were done.

Angel reluctantly said goodbye and Buffy continued to twist the blade around, watching the light reflect off of its polished surface with a smile. Dawn rolled her eyes and turned to the two men.

“We’re heading back to the school if you want to join us.”

Sam smiled and turned to Dean who merely shrugged. He didn’t really remember Buffy and she obviously hadn’t made as much of an impact on him as she had on Sam but he remembered staying with her Aunt. It had been after the Shtriga had attacked Sam and Dean was sure his father had been reluctant to leave them again as he tried to track it down. He didn’t know how his father had known her Aunt and Uncle but he remembered being left at a woman’s house in Colorado Springs for a few weeks. Thinking back on it now, her Uncle was probably an old military friend.

“Did you drive here?” Dawn asked as she nudged Buffy. Buffy looked up at them from the blade and smiled sheepishly.

“Yeah,” Sam said, “need a lift back?”

Dawn nodded and followed Sam as he led the way to the Impala. Dean unlocked the doors and Buffy and Dawn climbed into the back seat.

“So, you’re the Slayer?” Sam asked Buffy.

“Not the only one but yeah, the original.”

“I thought there was only one,” Dean questioned from the driver’s seat, looking at her in the rearview mirror.

“Had to take out a big enemy so I needed an army. Turned all the potentials into Slayers.”

Dean turned the key into the ignition and Dawn gave him directions to the school. He gave a glance at the two women sitting on the backseat and tried to remember the summer that his brother seemed to remember so clearly. Had there been hints of a Slayer in the making back then? Dean looked at Sam and saw the grin on his brother’s face. They’d found allies and he could tell Sam was ecstatic, especially as he seemed to remember Buffy. She must have made one hell of an impact on him if he could recognise her twenty years later. Maybe he could get Sam to tell him what he remembered.

The taillights of the Impala cast a red glow on the black road as it drove off into the darkness leaving behind a pair of curious and watchful eyes. Angel took a step out of the shadows and watched the love of his life unknowingly disappear once more from it.


End file.
